Houses across the Netherlands are selling faster than sellers can organise open days, according to the Dutch association of estate agents NVM. Only 5.500 homes are registered as part of the association’s National Open House Day on April 6, compared to 14.000 in 2023.
According to NVM, houses across the country are selling so quickly that prospective buyers are unable to attend viewings before the home is taken off the market. The realtors told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that homes are selling so fast and receiving so much interest that there is little incentive to even host open houses in many cases.
In 2023, home seekers were able to view 14.000 houses on National Open House Day, compared to this year’s relatively scant offering of just 5.500 homes. In 2014, the country had a whopping 50.000 homes to offer on Open House Day, after the peak of the credit crunch. According to the experts, it is becoming clear that the housing market is kicking into gear after the slight cooldown witnessed in 2023.
What’s more, of the 5.648 homes being hosted as part of National Open House Day, 5 percent already have offers that have been accepted by the seller, so any further viewings will prove fruitless, according to real estate site Funda.
“People have become accustomed to the current interest rate level, which is not extreme from a historical perspective, and salaries have also risen sharply. People have the money and want to spend it,” NVM spokesperson Marc van der Lee said to De Telegraaf. “If the supply is so limited, you will automatically adjust requirements. A house is already attractive to many people if they have the opportunity to buy it, regardless of the energy label or sustainability.”